Machine for producing cut and uncut pile fabrics



May 12, 1964 R. F. HACKNEY 3,132,612

MACHINE FOR PRODUCING CUT AND UNCUT FILE. FABRICS Filed Jan. 7, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 12, 1964 R. F. HACKNEY 3,132,612

MACHINE FOR PRODUCING CUT AND UNCUT FILE FABRICS Filed Jan. '7, 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ROBERT F- HACKNEY May 12, 1964 R. F. HACKNEY 3,132,612

Filed Jan. 7. 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 I63 s4 I ,10 C

INVENTOR ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,132,612 MACHINE FOR PRODUCENG ClUT AND UNCUT FILE FAllRICS Robert F. Hackney, Dalton, Ga. assignor to Cabin Crafts, Inc, Dalton, Ga, a corporation of Georgia Filed Jan. 7, 19m, Ser. No. 1,037 4 Claims. (cl. 112- 79 This invention relates to an improved machine for making pile fabrics by formation of loops or tufts in a cloth or backing material. More particularly, it relates to :a machine for producing tufted fabrics in which the pile is cut or uncut over the whole surface of the fabric or in selected areas thereof as may be desired or in accordance with any chosen pattern.

A machine to produce cut and uncut pile at will in selected areas of the same article without alteration of the machine or in accordance with a pattern and without the need for changing any of the tufting instruments or elements of the machine and While the machine runs continuously is disclosed andclaimed in a copending application (Serial No. 690,995 filed October 18, 1957) of the applicant herein and others, entitled Machine for Producing Out and Uncut Pile Fabrics.

Such machine is able to produce cut and uncut pile over the surface of the tufted article in accordance with a pattern which may be of irregular or any desired configuration, form or shape, as no limitations are imposed by the machine itself as to the nature of the pattern which is to appear in the manufactured article.

in such a machine there are two loopers adapted to cooperate with each needle, the loopers rock toward and from the needle path on each reciprocation of the needle, the needles are tiltably mounted, and selecting means causes tilting of each needle individually so that it will cooperate with one or the other of its loopers, the selection being made automatically in accordance with a pattern While the machineis running, all as herein described.

-It is an object of this invention to incorporate in a machine of the above-mentioned type means to accelerate restoration of the tilted needle to vertical position and ensure its reaching that position by the time the needle bar has reached its uppermost position, in order to improve the operation of the machine and the quality of the work it produces.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear as. it is described in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings;

FIG. 1 is an end elevation view diagrammatically illustrating a machine embodying the invention.

FIG. 2 is an elevational section view through the machine of FIG. 1 illustrating one of the rocking mechanisms.

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 taken in a plane parallel to, but spaced from, the plane of FIG. 2 and illustrating another of the rocking mechanisms.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the needle tilting mechanism.

illusice a tufting machine having a work support or flat table 10 over which the work or cloth backing sheet C is moved during the tufting operation. Above the table is a needlesupporting bar member 12 on which are tiltably mounted a plurality of needles N, as hereinafter more fully described. The needle bar is reciprocated vertically by two or more vertical thrust shafts M to which the bar is attached at each end and along the bar, depending upon its length and the number of needles it carries.

The thrust shafts M are suitably and conventionally guided in their reciprocation by guides 15 in a head or frame to fixedly mounted over the table 10. A main drive shaft 2% rotatabiy mounted horizontally in the head 16 has an eccentric 22 thereon to which is pivotally con nected the upper end of a connecting rod 24- causing reciprocation of the crank whose lower end is pivotally connected to the needle-bar-thrust shaft or shafts 14 whereby the needle bar is reciprocated vertically above the table iii. It will be understood that the means described for reciprocating the needle bar is exemplative and any of a number of means now in common use for reciprocating the needle bar of tufting machines can be used with equal satisfaction.

Mechanism to Form Loop Pile Beneath the table are three horizontal parallel rock shafts 3d, 4d and 5% supported for rotation in hearings in pairs of arms 32, 42 and 52 which are integral with and extend under the table it) at spaced points along the shafts 3th, 4th, 50, only one arm of each pair being visible. The shaft 3d is rocked by a lever arm 33 (FIG. #3) extending radially therefrom and pivotally connected to a conuectin rod 3 -ireciprocated vertically by an eccentric rod 35. The eccentric rod 35 has a loop on its upper end in which rotates an eccentric 36 on the main drive shaft 2d.

Mounted on the rock shaft Eli are two more horizontally spaced identical looper supporting arms 37 car- Tying a bar 38 (see FIG. 1). FiXedly mounted in the bar are -a series of identical looper elements 39 arranged in spaced side by side relation in a horizontal row, there being a looper to coopenate with each needle. The looper.

elements themselves may be of usual or known form.

Mechanism to Form Cat File Rock shafts id and Eli are rocked in unison by radial arms 51 and 51 (see FIG. 2) extending from shafts 40 and 5%, respectively, and linked together by a link 54 pivotally connected at its ends to said arms 41 and 51. Rock shaft 4i) is rocked by a lever arm 43 radially extending therefrom and pivotally connected with a conzontally spaced identical looper-suppor-ting arms 47 car- 1 rying a horizontally extending block 48. Fixedly mounted in the block are a series of looper elements 49, there being a looper to cooperate with each needle. Like the loopers 39, the loopers al are horizontally spaced in a row. The loopens 2$ extend toward the needles in a direction opposite to the loopers 39 and both are positioned to catch the yarn when the needle is down. A set of knives 53 cooperates with the loope-rs 49, one knife cooperating with each looper to make out pile. The knives and looper elements 49 per se may be of common or usual form. Mechanism is provided, as hereinafter described, to tilt each needle or not, individually, so that yarn brought down by the needle will be caught byone or the other of the looper elements 39 or 49 in order that cut or uncut pile may be made at will.

The knives 53 are mounted in spaced relation in a horizontal series on a bar or block 54- and extend upwardly in position to lie individually alongside the individual loopers 49 and to slide on the side surfaces thereof like a scissor blade as the bar 54 is rocked. The rocking of the bar md movement of the knives are caused by mounting the bar on laterally supporting arms 55 extending from the rock shaft 50.

The motions of the loopers 49 and knives 53 and needle are coordinated so that the loops are out after the loops are caught on looper 49 and the needle has risen.

For making uncut pile, loops are normally caught by the loopers 39; that is to say, the loopers 39 travel over to, or across, the vertical path of the needles N when the needles travel straight up and down in an exactly vertical plane.

Needle Tilting Means In order to take needles individually or several adjacent needles as a unitary group out of the path of motion of the loopers 39 and thus prevent the yarn from being caught by them and at the same time carry the yarn into the path of action of the other loopers 49, an individual needle or a group unit may be caused to tilt individually. For that purpose, identical individual mechansims acting on each needle holder are individually actuated automatically according to a pattern. The needles may be mounted singly, or in pairs as shown, or in larger groups, in tiltable holders 6% (see FIGS. 4 and 5) which are carried pivotally on a horizontal shaft 62 supported in the vertically-reciprocating needle-supporting bar 12. The needles N extend downwardly from the bottom faces of the holders 6%) which extend horizontally. The holders may be cast or machined parts with a head portion 611, in which the needles are mounted side-by-side, and an arm portion 63 extending laterally out of the plane of reciprocation of the needle bar 12.

A series of slots are provided in the needle supporting bar 12 in which the tiltable needle holders 60 are inserted. The shaft 62 is passed through the heads 61 of the tiltable holders 60 as it is inserted in the needle bar 12.

In the upper face of each holder, a vertical spring seat is bored in which sits the lower end of a coiled compression spring 64 whose upper end presses against the top surface of the holder-receiving slots in the needle bar 12. The compression springs Mare located to urge the holder to maintain the needles vertically normally with the top face of the holder flush against the needle bar 12 to afford a firm support for the needles during their insertion into the cloth.

To tilt the needle holders and needles, a series of needle tilt levers 70 are provided in the form of fiat bell-cranks, there being one lever for each of the holders 60. These levers 70 are mounted in a row on a fixed horizontal shaft 72 mounted in a fixed part of the machine adjacent to, but out of the path of reciprocation of the needle bar.v A series of slots are provided in said part for the reception individually of the levers 78 with one leg 71 of each lever extending vertically and being tiltable into engagement with the needle tilt arms 60.

Tilting of the levers 70 is accomplished by individual pneumatic cylinders 76 which are selectively actuated by opening and closing air valves operated by electric solenoids which are, in turn, selectively energized by a pattern drum, as will hereinafter more fully appear.

The horizontal leg 73 of each bell-crank lever 70 extends away from the needle bar 12 and has loosely connected to it on its end as by a pin-and-slot connection 74 the lower end of a piston rod 75. Each piston rod extends downwardly from a vertically mounted pneumatic cylinder 76 in which the piston is normally pressed upwardly by a coiled compression spring (not visible) within the cylinder, in usual fashion.

As the air pressure is admitted to each cylinder through their individual compressed air pipes 78 connecting with the cylinder at its top, the piston and piston rod are pressed down causing pivoting of the needle tilt lever counter clockwise (referring to FIG. 5) and pressing its vertical leg 71 into the path of its tiltable needle holder 60. Hence, as the needle bar 12 descends, the needle holders ea are tilted into the dotted position of FIG. 5 by the levers 70 so that when the needle has penetrated the cloth, it is positioned at a small angle approximately 15 more or less from vertical, and puts the loop of yarn in the path of the looper 4-9 by which it is caught.

Conventional gearing drives the rock shafts 40 and 50 for the loopers 49 and knives 53 so that the knives operate once for each looper oscillation. These motions are coordinated through the gearing with the needle reciprocations to give the following sequence:

The needles descend and penetrate the cloth, the loopers 49 move to the right (referring to FIG. 1) to catch the yarn loops from the needles, the needles rise. The knives 53 move to the left to cut the loops that were caught on the loopers 49. The sequence is then repeated.

The sequence for the loopers 39 is similar except that the knives and their operation are absent, and those loopers move to the left.

It is necessary that the tilting of the needles for formation of cut pile be in the direction of movement of the cloth over the table of the machine. t is also necessary that the loopers 49 and their knives 53 be on the side of the needle from which the cloth is receding because the loops caught upon the looper 49 are cut and can be freed therefrom, while the loops caught on the looper 39 are not cut and could not be freed if that looper 39 were on the receding side. The looper 39 must be on the advancing side of the needle.

In order that a loop which is to be cut to form cut pile shall be spaced exactly the same distance from the previous uncut loop as the uncut loops are spaced from each other (or, in other words, to have the loops throughout the length of the carpet to be equally spaced, whether they are cut or uncut), it is desirable for the needle to start tilting, whenever cut pile is to be formed, just after it starts to enter the cloth. Bearing in mind that the cloth is moving continuously and that as the needle descends, it tilts more and more, it will be understood that the tilt follows the cloth movement after having penetrated at a point exactly spaced from the previous penetration when the previous loop was formed. If the needle was fully or substantially tilted before starting to penetrate the cloth, the penetration would be 'too close to the previous uncut loop and would give an uneven appearance to the fabric.

Patlem Control for the Tilting Means Selection of needles to be tilted is done by a pattern drum which controls energizing or deenergizing of electrical devices selectively, to operate selected pneumatic cylinders 76 and to tilt selected needles.

Admission of air to each cylinder 76 is controlled by conventional, individual electric solenoid operated air valves 77 in each air line'78 from the compressed air source 79 to each cylinder 76. Since the solenoid valves are available on the market and can be purchased as complete units, their structure and operation need not be further described.

The wire terminals of solenoid valves 77 are connected electrically as usual to a suitable common source 81 of to the surface of the drum so that as the drum rotates certain fingers contact with the conductive portion causing energization of the solenoids connected to those fingers and opening of air valves controlled by those solenoids thereby to actuate certain pistons and tilt individual needles.

Rotation of the drum is regulated and determined in accordance with the speed of production of a given length of the rug or tufted article which the pattern is to cover, one revolution taking place during the productionof said given length.

In this manner, the pattern laid on the drum determines the pattern which will appear in the finished rug or other tufted article. Clearly, the number of patterns which can be created by a machine embodying this invention is infinite. Moreover, the only change that need be made when an article having one pattern is to be made differently than a previous article is to place a new pattern upon the drum. This can be easily and quickly accomplished after the pattern has been prepared. The versatility and flexibility and use of the present invention is an outstanding characteristic and advantage.

Since the number of needles can be increased or decreased depending on the demands or requirements of particular usage, the machine is readily adaptable to use in making narrow or wide fabrics.

Provision for Rapid Return of Needles to Vertical Position Referring to FIGS. 8 to 10, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts in the previous figures, pivots 72 of the needle-tilt levers are mounted on an oscillatory fabricated assembly 119 on which are mounted also the air cylinders 76. This oscillatory assembly is mounted fixedly on a rock shaft 118 that runs the length of the machine and is mounted in a plurality of bearing brackets 117 mounted on the machine frame 16. The assembly may also run the length of the machine or there may be individual identical assemblies for each air cylinder and tilt-lever all fixed on the rock shaft 118 in a series for carrying and supporting the individual needles or needle parrs.

The rock shaft is rocked through a small angle, as illustrated by dot and dash lines in FIG. 8, by an L-shaped arm 128 afiixed at one end to shaft 118, the other end having a slot 129 in which rides a connecting pin 1270 on one end of a connecting rod 127b. The other end of this connecting rod is pivotally connected by a pin 127a to a foot member or lug 126 aflixed to the bottom end of a thrust rod 125 actuated from the main shaft by means similar to that for actuating the thrust shaft 14.

In order that the needlemay return to vertical position as rapidly as possible as the needle bar ascends, the working face of the tilt-lever arm 171 is cut back and upwardly. The cut starts above the point at which the arm 171 is engaged by a roller 165 on the end of the needle-holder arm 163 immediately following the secure placement of the loop of yarn from the needle on the cut-pile looper.

Thus, as the needle bar 12 starts to rise from its lowest point, it very quickly carries the roller 165 on the arm 163 of the needle holder into the cut-back of the tilt lever 171. This accelerates the return of the needles to vertical position.

Many modifications within the scope of the invention Will occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the invention is not limited to the specific form and arrangement described and illustrated.

What is claimed is:

1. In a tufting machine, needle holding means, at least one needle mounted in said holding means, means to reciprocate said holding means and needle, means to mount said holding means tiltably on said reciprocatory means, means adapted to tilt said holding means and needle as they descend, and means to return said needle to normaluntilted position during ascent of the needle, and means between said needle holding means and said tilting means to accelerate the return of theneedle to normal untilted position.

2. In a tufting machine, means to reciprocate a needle to penetrate a Work sheet moving through the machine in a given path, a needle support tiltably mounted on said reciprocating means, at least one needle mounted on said support, means pivotally mounted on the machine and operable to engage and tilt said needle support in line with the path of work movement as the support descends, said pivotal means having a recessed portion engaged by the needle support to accelerate return of the needle to normal untilted position during ascent of the needle.

3. In a tufting machine as claimed in claim 2, means to rockably mount said pivotable means, means to rock said rockable mounting means in one direction during descent of the needle and in the opposite direction during ascent in order to further accelerate return of the needle to normal-untilted position.

4. In a tufting machine, means to reciprocate a needle to penetrate a work sheet moving through the machine in a given path, a needle support mounted on said reciproeating means, a needle holder tiltably mounted on said support for tilting the needle in line with the path of work movement, a pivotally mounted tilt control member adapted to pivot and engage said holder, at rockable support on the machine on which said tilt control member is pivotally mounted, and means to rock said rockable support independent of the pivoting of said tilt control member about its pivot to accelerate return of the needle to normaluntilted position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 225,199 Smith Mar. 2, 1880 1,785,650 Riviere Dec. 16, 1930 1,932,516 Gilleland Oct. 31, 1933 2,260,896 Goodman et al. Oct. 28, 1941 2,785,643 Mitchell Mar. 19, 1957 2,803,207 Sotzky Aug. 20, 1957 2,879,728 McCutchen Mar. 31, 1959 2,879,729 McCutchen Mar. 31, 1959 2,882,845 Hoeselbarth Apr. 21, 1959 2,982,240 McCutchen May 2, 1961 3,026,830 Bryant et a1. Mar. '27, 1962 

1. IN A TUFTING MACHINE, NEEDLE HOLDING MEANS, AT LEAST ONE NEEDLE MOUNTED IN SAID HOLDING MEANS, MEANS TO RECIPROCATE SAID HOLDING MEANS AND NEEDLE, MEANS TO MOUNT SAID HOLDING MEANS TILTABLY ON SAID RECIPROCATORY MEANS, MEANS ADAPTED TO TILT SAID HOLDING MEANS AND NEEDLE AS THEY DESCEND, AND MEANS TO RETURN SAID NEEDLE TO NORMALUNTILTED POSITION DURING ASCENT OF THE NEEDLE, AND MEANS BETWEEN SAID NEEDLE HOLDING MEANS AND SAID TILTING MEANS TO ACCELERATE THE RETURN OF THE NEEDLE TO NORMAL UNTILTED POSITION. 